Determination of available soil phosphorus by chemical methods

Abstract

Phosphorus uptake by oats in pot experiments was compared with phosphorus test values obtained for experimental soils. Phosphorus was extracted from the soil using acid ammonium acetate solution, Bray 1 solution, Olsen solution, ammonium fluoride, distilled water and anion exchange resin. Intensity values were determined by equilibrating the soils with 0.01 M CaCl2 solution. Soil samples were collected from 30 mineral soils. The best test for phosphorus status proved to be the anion exchange resin method. Good results were also obtained with simple water extraction. An advantage of the water and resin method is that the microstructure of the soil is not substantially changed when using these methods. An intensity measurement was not in itself sufficient for analysis of the phosphorus status, since the intensity drops rapidly when soil releases phosphorus.